After several components from Italian die casting machinery maker IDRA Group were spotted at Tesla's Gigafactory Austin over the past few months, it looks like technicians finally started assembling the 9,000-ton Giga Press that will be used to churn out Cybertruck structural components.
Drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, who has been following closely the construction of Tesla's Texas plant since groundbreaking, has spotted the giant new casting machine being assembled inside the factory.
The drone flyover video clearly shows that Tesla is currently assembling the Giga Press, the world's largest aluminum die casting machine. The giant press can be seen partly assembled in a section of the factory where Tesla plans to build the Cybertruck body.
As Joe Tegtmeyer points out in a tweet, the same factory section includes three more identical foundations to the one on which the first Giga Press is being installed. That and the fact there's a huge amount of space left in this area of the plant suggest Tesla could receive three more mega casting machines from IDRA Group in the coming months.
Details about the components that will be made by the Giga Press are not available, though a prototype Cybertruck frame was spotted on the production floor late last year. However, Sandy Munro took a good look at the photo and concluded that the frame was not the result of single-piece casting, having been made from several different sections instead.
The assembly of the Giga Press is great news for the more than 1.6 million people who have expressed interest in the Cybertruck and likely indicates Tesla is on schedule to start initial production of the electric pickup truck in mid-2023 as promised.
Mass production will reportedly begin before the end of the year, according to insiders cited by Reuters in November 2022.
Now, despite the insane amount of coverage the Cybertruck continues to receive on a regular basis, Tesla is yet to provide an update on the production version of the Cybertruck with final specifications and pricing. Elon Musk admitted last year that prices and specifications will differ because a lot has changed since the Cybertruck's 2019 unveiling.
After the automaker removed Cybertruck specs and pricing from its customer website in October 2021, no significant product updates have been released other than the fact it will initially feature a quad-motor powertrain - as per Tesla's CEO.
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Source: Joe Tegtmeyer (Twitter)